IdeaJoel

Joel Rodriguez joel.rodriguez@suhsd.k12.ca.us ||
 * =The Ambassador Game =
 * [[image:Ambassador-Game.jpg width="435" height="329"]] ||

Overview
[|Safe School Ambassadors] (SSA) is a nation-wide student leadership program aimed at reducing problems in schools as a result of bullying and other forms of mistreatment. Students representing different groups on campus are recruited and trained on how to notice acts of cruelty or mistreatment on campus and on effect ways of intervening or acting in response to situations. Through this online game, students in the program will be able to practice and refresh their knowledge of their ambassador actions.

Instructional Objective
The objective of the game is to have Safe School Ambassadors identify situations that may occur on campus and select the correct course of action to solve problems. Students will be able to practice the skills they have learned in the SSA training.

Learners
This game is designed for students in grades 6-12 who are part of the Safe School Ambassador program or a similar anti-bullying program at their school. Students in the program represent all grades in school and the diverse student groups on campus. Students are recruited and then apply to the program. After an intense two-day training, students are asked to sign a "Code of Conduct" to remain in the program, or they are given the option to not be a part of the program. Thus, all students in the program have elected to be a part of it, and are motivated to positively impact their schools and communities.

Context of Use
This game will be primarily used at home, and on occasions at school during Safe School Ambassador family group meetings. At home, students who choose to polish up on their Ambassador actions will play it online. They will need to have enough bandwidth to handle streaming video clips. At school, family group facilitators will have to be in a classroom with enough computers for their family groups - usually five to seven Ambassadors.

The game can be played as many times as students need to practice their skills. Prior to the game, students will have been trained on noticing acts 5 of cruelty (exclusion, harassment, bullying, physical mistreatment, and acts against campus), as well as on the actions to use for different situations. Students are also trained on identifying problems, determining their relationship with those involved, analyzing the environment, checking their mood and understanding their options. After playing the game, students will be able to rank their skill set and determine if they need more practice.

The game is meant to be a single-player game that any student with internet access can play. Students will need to know basic online navigation and computer skills. The will need to know how to play video clips from the internet and click on tabs. A typical game could be played in one to two hours, and can be played many times since the content will change with each game play.

The game will be built in Adobe Flash and will be designed to work with Firefox, Safari, Explorer and Opera browsers supporting Flash Players. With modifications in game play, a mobile version can eventually be developed for iPods as well.

Scope
The game will consist of ten skill levels and length of game will depend on the user. If played with accuracy at each level, a game can last two hours. Most students, however, will not be perfect the first time around and will probably not play the entire game in one sitting. Students will have the option to log in to save a game in progress, or they can start a new game every time they visit the site.

For the game to be created, situations have to be filmed, edited and imported into Flash. The game will begin with 225 video clips broken down as follows:
 * 25 scenarios in form of video clips per level (5 for each act of mistreatment)
 * 6 option buttons listed in a "Choose Your Action"
 * 9 levels of difficulty
 * 6 result summaries per video clip, appearing in text over the video clip.

Object of the Game
The goal is for the Ambassador to earn the Ambassador Medal of Honor by successfully passing all nine levels with a perfect score. At schools where graduation stoles or medals given to graduating Ambassadors, this can be one requirement for earning the stole or medal.

Competing Products
There aren't any games like this one because this games caters to a specific program. What I did find was games designed to stop bullying, or at least educate students about what bullying is. My game is more than bullying and deals with mistreatment on campus at various levels, and the goal is not to stand up to a bully, but rather change the norms of behavior on campus by influencing people in your inner circle to act in a more appropriate manner.

The two games on similar topics out there focused mainly on anti-bullying. A series of games are provided by [|Stop Bullying Now!] These games appear to be targeted toy younger audiences and are focused on identifying what bullying is and what students should do when confronting a bully. For older students, this game would be completely ineffective.

Another game I found was [|S-Team Heroes]. In this game, a player walks through a neighborhood and encounters different situations with bullies and decides how to deal with the bully. Depending on you choice, and animation will either reinforce you choice or explain why your choice is not the best in that particular situation.

What I found is that these games are very unrealistic in both portraying bullies and victims. My game will give realistic situations that students have experienced and they will involve real students as actors, not animations. The options students will take will revolve around the training they have received and not on an unrealistic encounter.

Universal Elements
The game will be realistic with animated graphics as a backdrop The purpose of this game is to develop the skills of students trained in the program, so the game must be designed in such a way that the students will not be distracted from the task. The game screen will resemble an embedded video screen such as YouTube, but it will be enhanced to show the game content. The main focus will be on the video screen that will show realistic scenarios students are likely to encounter on a high school campus. There will also be a section of the screen showing a countdown clock. There will me upbeat music during the introduction screen and as students review the rules of the game. Once the game starts, music will fade out so students can focus on the audio in the video screen.

Specific Elements
The Ambassador Game will combine aspects of a simulation and a quiz game in which students view a pre-recorded situation and are quizzed on how to react. Prior to starting, students will need an access code provided by the program advisor at their school. Students will begin the game with Level 1 scenarios. These situations are more common to spot and easier to respond to. As students correctly identify the situation and response, the game play increases in difficulty. Student have to be quicker to analyze the situation and decide on an appropriate response. A meter will rise and fall according to student responses. ||
 * **The Ambassador Game** ||
 * [[image:Ambassador-Game-ScreenA.jpg width="453" height="342"]]
 * Screenshot: Video of scenario playing ||

**Description of the categorization scheme used for questions**
The scenarios for this game will be categorized according to types of acts presented in each video. The types of mistreatment represented in the scenarios are exclusion, put-downs, bullying, unwanted physical contact, and acts against campus. These are based on the training students receive when joining the Safe School Ambassador program.

The types of acts will be paired with other varying factors to create different levels of difficulty. The varying factors include relationship (What is the Ambassadors relationship with those involved?), environment (What are the physical and social surroundings like?), and mood (What mood is the Ambassador in when encountering this situation). As the scenario plays, these will scroll across the "PREMO Screen" to place the player in a mindset.

Difficulty** || **Problems (Acts of Mistreatment)** || **Relationship** || **Environment** || **Mood** || Teammate Friend || Lunch Quad Passing Period Start of Class || Good Mood Tired Excited || Stranger Best Friend || Loud crowd Spectators Library || Happy Rushed Neutral || Physical Mistreatment || Friend Sister Teacher Stranger || Quite classroom Noisy classroom Lunch Quad Start of Class || Neutral Worried || Physical Mistreatment || Friend Teacher Classmate || Cafeteria Hallway PE Class || Neutral Tired || Physical Mistreatment, Bullying || Stranger Friend Classmate Boyfriend/Girlfriend || Science Class PE Class Cafeteria Library || Neutral Angry Frustrated || Bullying, Exclusion, Exclusion || Former Friend Classmate Stranger Rival || PE Class Cafeteria Dark Hallway Empty Campus || Neutral Rushed Happy || Bullying, Put-downs, Exclusion || Boyfriend/Girlfriend Best Friend Stranger Rival || PE Class Weekend Party Dark Hallway Empty Campus || Neutral Depressed Frustrated Afraid || Physical Mistreatment, Bullying || Boyfriend/Girlfriend Stranger Former Friend || Weekend Party After school History Class || Neutral Upset Irate || Physical Mistreatment, Bullying || Best Friend Ex-boyfriend/Girlfriend Brother Stranger Friend || Weekend Party Football Game Dark Hallway Empty Campus || Depressed Upset Hurt Rushed Afraid ||
 * **Level of
 * 1 || Exclusion, Bullying, Put-downs || Classmate
 * 2 || Exclusion, Bullying, Put-downs || Classmate
 * 3 || Bullying, Put-downs,
 * 4 || Bullying, Put-downs,
 * 5 || Acts Against Campus
 * 6 || Physical Mistreatment
 * 7 || Physical Mistreatment
 * 8 || Acts Against Campus
 * 9 || Acts Against Campus, Put Downs

Sample Scenarios
The scenarios will be re-enacted from actual situations identified by students during the different trainings over the past three years. For the purpose of the game, a student in each video will be distinguished as an Ambassador by wearing all black.

//Level 1 Scenario:// A new student sits in the seat next to the Ambassador in class. A classmate comes comes by and says, "All new students must sit in the back, move it." PREMO Screen Shows: The classmate has a neutral relationship with you, you are in a good mood, and class is about to begin. Identify the problem and select the correct Ambassador Action. (ANSWER: Exclusion; **Reason** with the perpetrator or **Support** the target)

//Level 5 Scenario:// As the Ambassador and a classmate are walking around the gym, another student kicks down a trash can, laughing as trash spills and hits your friend on the leg. Your friend is upset. PREMO Screen Shows: The perpetrator is a younger brother of your good friend. Your mood is neutral. Identify the problem and select the correct Ambassador Action. (ANSWER: Act Against Campus; Reasoning with the perpetrator)
 * [[image:Level5.jpg width="450" height="341"]] ||
 * Screenshot: Level 5 Scenario ||

//Level 9 Scenario:// You are walking with your friend Chris when he bumps his ex-girlfriend, Diana, hard on the shoulder, setting off a confrontation on your way to class. He threatens to hit her if she does not lower her tone of voice. (PREMO: Diane is your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend and Chris has only been your friend this school year. There are students all around waiting to see what happens and you are in a hurry because you have an exam. Identify the problem and select the correct Ambassador Action. (ANSWER: Physical Mistreatment; **Direct** Chris way from Diane OR **Distract** Chris by reminding him he needs to be on time for the test.)


 * [[image:Level9.jpg width="449" height="338"]] ||
 * Screenshot: Level 9 Scenario ||

Screenshots
add their name to the Wall of Fame. || not the best answer and given a rationale. ||
 * [[image:Ambassador-Game-Screen2.jpg width="459" height="350"]] ||
 * 1. "Time is up!" Screen shows when students run out of time. ||
 * [[image:FinalScreen.jpg width="467" height="354"]] ||
 * 2. "End of Game" Screen- Students who successfully respond to ALL scenarios
 * [[image:incorrect.jpg width="465" height="350"]] ||
 * 3. "Incorrect Answer" Screen - Students are informed as to why their answer was

Scoring System
Scores will not be displayed but a point system will be tabulated by the game to move a meter up and down. Each scenario will be worth three points as shown below. In order to move the bar up to the next level, students must score 15 points. As students correctly identify scenarios, the bar slowly rises to the next level. Running out of time or answering incorrecly will move the bar slightly downward.
 * 1 point for correctly identifying the problem
 * 2 points for selecting the BEST action (Students are trained on various actions that may be used in different situations. Scenarios will present opportunities for at least two actions, but one will be awarded two points for being the most relevant. Secondary options will be awarded 1 point).

The reason for using the bar as opposed to a visual score is to keep students focused on the videos and the timer and not on a point system. The bar to the left of the screen will make it easier to see if they are making progress without distracting from gameplay.

Technical Elements

 * This game will have to be created in Adobe Flash to allow for the interactive menu and video embedding
 * The game will be Flash based and be designed for online play on both PC and Macintosh platforms and will need to run on all major browsers.
 * Graphics files for the background and buttons will be in JPEG and PNG formats, while the video will be embedded into Flash as either FLV or SWF formats.
 * Adobe Flash is supported on both PC and Mac platforms.
 * Flash will have to be tied into data to hold point values and sequences for videos, as well as keeping a database of users who reach the end successfully.

Motivational Issues
The game will engage the learner by providing them with some real life examples of situations they encounter every day. Since this game is designed for a particular set of students who have made the commitment to improving the safety and environment at their school by joining the SSA program, the students will already have a small motivator to play the game. From student respose at trainings, they want more scenarios to act out and practice their skills with. The game was designed with the John Keller's ARCS model in mind.

//Attention:// Students attention will be gained by realistic scenarios of situations that occur at a real high school. The videos will be made to resemble a video that anyone with a camera would have captured to give it a "raw footage" look. The format is also similar to popular video websites such as YouTube and Myspace.

//Relevance:// For students in the SSA program, this material is very relevant. It is an extension of the training that they take part in and students have expressed the need to refresh their skills beyond the two-day training. It also relates to the problems they encounter everyday in high school, giving them options to remedy some of the acts on campus that make the school environment negative for many students.

//Confidence:// By keeping an eye on the level meter, the students can see their skills as Ambassadors improving and build on the confidence that they are making a difference on campus. In addition, the levels are scaffolded so that the students get practice with the easier situations first. This allows them to build up confidence to address the tougher situations, especially when it comes to the real situations they encounter on campus.

//Satisfaction//: The students in the program demonstrate altruism and knowing that they are making a positive contribution to society is one of the motivating factors behind this game. The Wall of Fame can also be tied in to rewards given to participants of the program, such as graduation medals, stoles or even scholarships.

Design Process
I first thought of creating a game where students in our program can practice their skills. One of the critiques of the SSA training is that students do not have time to act out role plays based on situations they have listed as occurring on our campus. Since the class discussion on types of games, the idea has been brewing in my head. I considered creating something in the Second Life platform, but retracted on this idea because I wanted something real. After discussing the idea with the program advisor at our school and some Ambassadors, they solidified my thinking on creating a realistic game. What I had found out there was not suiting our needs. Students who I shared the games with said they were elementary and not effective for teens. I decided to try to recreate the role playing activities from the training by developing a game that would make Ambassdors think on their feet and act based on their mood and relationship to those involved in an act of mistreatment that they witness.

During the process, I got feedback from the program advisor, classmates and students in the SSA program. Their input was valuable in helping create the content and the game play. The scenarios come from actual documented cases that the students in the program have logged. Since there are over 1000 action logs turned, there exists the potential for further development of the game to include more scenarios.

The students in the program said that points were not as important as knowing that they were learning to apply skills, which is one of the reasons I decided not to include a digital scoreboard on the screen. In addition, the students and the advisor said that simple backgrounds would make it easier to focus on the task, although they sugessted adding a blog to discuss their answers with others, which is an idea that I would incorporate into a game. I learned that having potential users available throughout the design process was very useful and if I were to design another game, I would want to have users their throughout the process to hammer out the do's and don'ts.